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Wallace Breen
.]] '''Doctor Wallace Breen' is a fictional character from the 2004 first-person shooter computer game Half-Life 2, produced by Valve Software. He is the primary antagonist in Half-Life 2 and also the puppet ruler of the Earth from his headquarters in the Citadel, the Combine stronghold in City 17. He is voiced by actor Robert Culp. Role Half-Life and the Seven Hour War Doctor Breen was the administrator of the Black Mesa Research Facility at the time of the "Black Mesa Incident," the events depicted in Half-Life, but he was neither seen nor mentioned by name. (He was instead referred to always as "the Administrator.") After the Seven Hour War, he "negotiated" a peace agreement with the Combine that saved humanity, but at the cost of enslavement. Doctor Breen was appointed as ruler of Earth — a puppet of the Combine, who have little physical presence on the planet. The Half-Life 2 art book, Raising the Bar, has information that indicates Breen used, at least at one point of the planned story if not in the final version, a radio transmitter tower on the surface (i.e., not in Black Mesa) to communicate directly to the Combine and negotiate a surrender. Draft scripts for Half-Life 2 indicate that this would have been shown in a introductory segment to the game carried out through a series of projector slides. One of the slides would have shown Breen at the foot of a tower wearing a headset linked directly to it, with arms held wide and speaking to the skies. Half-Life 2 Breen is alerted to the return of Gordon Freeman in Half-Life 2 when Gordon is temporarily teleported by accident to his office in the Citadel. Doctor Breen informs the Combine and immediately dispatches the forces at his disposal to capture Freeman and break the associated Resistance movement in City 17. During Gordon Freeman's raid on the Citadel, Freeman is temporarily in the custody of Breen, until Judith Mossman turns against the administrator. During this period, Breen makes a very notable statement: he mentions while in the presence of Alyx Vance and her father, Eli (who are also in his custody) that Gordon "has proven a fine pawn to those who control him." He also comments that Gordon's services are "open to the highest bidder," and says he would understand if Gordon doesn't want to discuss it in front of his friends. These remarks imply that Breen may be aware of the mysterious G-Man and his influence over Freeman. It was also mentioned in one of the "Breencasts" to the Sector Seventeen Overwatch in Nova Prospekt; "I have good reason to believe that in the intervening years, he was in a state that precluded further development of covert skills." When the human resistance begins to loosen the Combine's hold on Earth, Doctor Breen attempts to flee using a Combine teleporter. Gordon Freeman manages to stop him by destroying the Citadel's dark fusion reactor, which destroys the teleporter in a massive explosion, presumably consuming Breen in the process. At the beginning of Episode 1, Alyx Vance states the last thing she remembers after the explosion is "Breen falling". Breencasts Throughout City 17, Doctor Breen is frequently seen and heard making Breencasts — city-wide video broadcasts which he uses to speak directly to citizens and Combine forces. Breencasts consist of anything from the doctor addressing citizens' concerns, to an outlet for pro-Combine propaganda. In both, Breen refers to the Combine as the "Universal Union" or "Our Benefactors," never using the term "Combine" except in attempts to mock the term. However, when relaxed and not in front of the public, even he uses the term. One such Breencast is as follows, as he addresses Gordon Freeman: This last Breencast has the Administrator pleading with Freeman to end his quest to bring down the Citadel. He also displays his fearfulness and disappointment with the Combine, who are suspicious of his motives. Dr. Breen addresses Freeman in a similar way later on inside the Citadel, although it is unknown whether he is still broadcasting to the rest of City 17 at this point. As briefly stated earlier, Dr. Breen never uses the term "Combine" in his formal broadcasts, and criticizes those who do. For example, shortly after the "Anticitizen One" chapter begins, a Breencast can be heard on a television set in the area where hopper mines are first encountered, in which Dr. Breen says, "...And only the universal union that small minds call 'The Combine' can carry us there." However, when Gordon assaults Nova Prospekt, he sees a recording of Breen scolding the Overwatch Soldiers for failing to capture Freeman, referring to them as the "Combine Overwatch". Additionally, when the player is taken to Breen's office in the Citadel, in which Eli Vance is being held prisoner, Breen says, "Having both of you in my keeping ensures I can dictate the terms of any bargain I care to make with the Combine." Some citizens apparently enjoyed some of the Breencasts — in Episode One, one citizen can be heard saying to another; "I don't miss Dr. Breen, but I do miss his show. Remember when he had the jugglers on?" Category:Half-Life characters Category:Male video game characters Category:Fictional dictators Category:Fictional scientists Category:1998 introductions